Various types of passive remote sensors have been employed in attempts to deduce the composition of earth materials from an airborne platform. These includes gamma ray spectrometry which yields direct measurement of near-surface abundance of certain elements, but is limited in practice to only a few rare radioactive isotopes. Fluorescence spectrometry, applicable for several minerals, commonly yields data that are representative of surface contamination rather than the underlying mineral. Furthermore, the fluorescence spectra of different minerals tends to be ambiguous and are not indicative of the abundance of the elements or compounds being sought.
Therefore there exists a need for apparatus to rapidly analyze a great number of mineral samples for quantity and makeup by analysis means transported by a platform located a distance from the mineral samples.